Saira Khan tells newspaper critics: You don't have the balls to say you don't like me because I'm brown'

talkRADIO star Saira Khan has hit back at her newspaper critics on today's show, asking them why they can't just come out and say "'we don't like you because you're brown.'"

The Daily Express and The Daily Star both ran articles criticising Khan this week, for comments she made as a panellist on Loose Women. The Express lambasted Khan for her opposition to children taking "mental health days" off from school, while the Star turned on her for saying she would be totally opposed to her daughter dating an individual on the sex offenders register.

Both articles cited criticism from fans of the show, but Khan told talkRADIO co-star Jamie East there was a deeper agenda at work.

Khan said she was "pretty passionate" and this "really offended people." However she insisted she was just doing her job by being controversial and representing her point of view.

When Jamie talked about presenters who come under fire from the papers, his co-presenter said "it's always me".

Khan went on to suggest there was an element of racism underpinning the criticism, adding: "I think it is because I am a British Asian, Muslim woman and these papers don't like views from people like me.

"I never use colour as an excuse. I've seen racism, I've seen institutionalised racism, and I genuinely believe that this paper, particularly, whoever's writing these stories... it's based on the fact that they just don't like people of colour.

"Why don't you just have the balls to just come out and say 'we don't like you because you're brown.'"